The Flash’s season three finale was expected to end with a major cliffhanger, but not many had expected things would go down the way they did. As expected, social media soon exploded with reactions.

The Flash and Kid Flash during their race earlier this season.(The CW)

The final episode of The Flash season 3 ended with quite the bang! The episode titled, Finish Line, started where the penultimate episode had left off — Iris West succumbing to the blade of evil speedster (and self proclaimed God of Speed) Savitar. Read on, but be warned, for there are major spoilers ahead.

Much to our satisfaction, the episode quickly told us that it wasn’t Iris that had died, all thanks to HR who used his transmogrifier (face changing device) to switch places with her. What made him do this is also quickly revealed in a flashback sequence, which showed HR feeling guilty about revealing Iris’ location on Earth-2, leading up to him making the ultimate sacrifice.

Watch the switch up here:

If that wasn’t enough of a setback for fans, the final moments of the episode gave us another massive shocker. Since there was no one left in the Speedforce to stabilise it, a storm breaks out. Team Flash quickly realise that someone is needed to stabilise it, and the heroic Barry Allen aka The Flash chooses to enter the Speedforce. Wally West is told that he will continue Flash’s legacy as the new Flash, much like the comics where Barry passed the mantle to Wally.

Watch Barry’s exit here:

While the ending was as close to the canon trade-off in the comics, it left many fans heartbroken. As a result, social media quickly got flooded with all sorts of reactions.